Online Community Tips

Managing an association isn’t for the faint of heart. Between juggling events, tracking renewals, rallying volunteers, and trying to keep members engaged year round, it is a perpetual flurry of activity. While your association management system (AMS) may handle the logistics behind those operations, it’s your community platform that can keep members connected, informed, and active along the way.

In the quest to cultivate vibrant online communities, it is understandable to inevitably turn to familiar chat applications like Slack or Discord. We all get chat, and its real-time immediacy is undeniably appealing for quick exchanges and team coordination. However, for those aspiring to build something truly enduring – a place where knowledge thrives, relationships deepen, and collective value compounds – these tools often prove insufficient.

Remember the good ol' days of online forums? You might recall those early iterations of "online communities" – perhaps a clunky support forum for a software product or a niche message board for industry professionals. Fast forward to today we've gone through multiple software "phases" - cloud, SaaS, social, gamification, to AI. All of these evolutionary changes have found their way into online community platforms as well. 

For community managers in membership organizations, an online community space isn't just a "nice-to-have" – it's something people now look forward to, and they might be surprised if it's missing. In 2025, The days of static forums are long gone. Dedicated community platforms are now sophisticated hubs, purpose-built to help you cultivate a thriving ecosystem for your members. Let's explore the trends shaping this crucial technology for 2025:

Whether you just purchased a new community or if you've had a system for years, the question of if the system is paying off always remains important. Are you seeing a real return on your investment, or is the value you're getting falling short of what you're paying for the system?

Alright, you're sold on building an online space for your members. That's fantastic! But when you're wading through all the options out there, trying to pick the right tech, it can feel like buying clothes online – everyone looks good on the screen, but who's really a good fit?

In today's super-connected world, having a strong, active member community is a complete game-changer for any organization wanting to grow and make a real impact. A solid member community platform isn't just nice to have; it's a smart move that can completely change how your members link up, work together, and really get value from being part of your organization.

By now, most associations recognize that a robust online community isn’t a luxury, it’s a must-have. Whether your members are craving more meaningful connections, better collaboration tools, or streamlined access to resources, the right platform can make all the difference. But choosing the “right” platform? That’s where it gets tricky.

If engagement is the goal, then creative content is the path to reaching it. Yet for many associations, consistently generating meaningful, relevant, and interactive content for members can feel like an uphill battle. The question isn’t whether content matters, it’s how to create experiences that invite participation, foster knowledge-sharing, and deepen relationships among members.

Last week we had the pleasure of sponsoring the Association Platform Power Conference (APP25), held April 1–2 at the Hyatt Regency in Reston, Virginia. This two-day event brought together users of Fonteva and Protech, two of the leading association management systems, for hands-on learning, networking, and discovery of tools that can amplify the impact of their organizations. With a strong turnout of association professionals eager to explore new ways to future-proof their operations, APP25 delivered on its promise to be a hub of innovation and inspiration.